Crash and Burn
by Beacon
Summary: Katara led Zuko slowly into the water, letting the cool, reviving liquid caress Zuko's tired body. She turned to face him and pulled him close. You'll always have me, she whispered No matter what. Zutara


An: Wheeee! Life is good guys! is back up and working for me again, so I'm here to stay! Anywho, this was originally intended as a birthday story for my friend on livejournal, but I decided to post it here because I liked it so much. The lyrics are from the song "Crash and Burn", which is a fabulous song, and also the title of this story. However I got a little sick of listening to the song while I was writing this piece. Oh well… Hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you guys think, k?

Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, Zutara would be canon, 'nuff said.

Crash and Burn

"_When you feel all alone,_

_And world as turned it's back on you_

_Give me a moment please_

_To tame your wild, wild heart."_

It was silent, deafeningly so. No sound wormed it's way out of the surrounding woods, and Zuko wanted to slam his hands over his ears and shout to get rid of the silence, but he couldn't. He pulled in his legs, and rested his chin on his knees. He hated it, feeling so angry, so helpless, so alone. A soft breeze whispered over the grass and the still pond and was so loud to Zuko's sensitive ears that he winced and buried his head in his arms. The tears would come soon. He never knew they were there until the streams of salty water cascaded down his cheeks. It had surprised him the first time he had cried. It had scared him, and it still did. _'Please oh please don't let me cry,' _he begged silently. He heard a shuffle behind him, and he looked back at her, face automatically becoming stony. The bruise right above his scared eye even more prominent then when he had slipped away a little over an hour ago. Her blue eyes stared back, wide and innocent.

He hated her eyes. Too much emotion, they were too trusting, too caring, too loving. He wanted to shout, to tell her to get lost, ask her why she bothered, but then she took timid step forward and attempted a soothing gesture with her hands and his words died in his throat.

"_I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you_

_It's hard to find relief_

_And people can be so cold"_

She stepped forward wearily, waiting for his anger, his snap, his flames to come shooting at her, never quite a threat, but enough to make the message clear. 'I'm alone and you can't help me.' They didn't come. It hurt her to see him like this. She always hated it when any of her friends were sad but him especially. It hurt when the young prince reached out; searching for a kind face, offering everything he had, every thing he was simply to be accepted. All he found in return were insults, a slammed door, and murmurs of locals who hated him for his family and not for him. It was the same anywhere they went. And though he tried to hide it, she always saw the pain, the golden eyes wide with hurt and fear and that question that broke her heart. '_Why? Why do they hate me?'_

"_When darkness is upon your door_

_And you feel like you can't take anymore…"_

The dark began to press in on the small clearing, descending from the high silhouettes of the tree branches. Katara took another step forward, and then another and another until she was standing right behind Zuko. He didn't look at her again, but simply sat, staring out over the pond. "Zuko," She whispered, and bit her lip when he flinched. He slowly raised his eyes up to hers, and she winced as she once again caught sight of the purple-y bruise. It didn't look too good, not to mention the gash that rested right below it, too close to his eye for comfort. His eyes, Katara sucked in a breath as she looked straight into the golden depths. His eyes were so sad, and she knew her eyes reflected his pain right back again.

"_Let me be the one you call_

_If you jump I will break your fall_

_Lift you up and fly away with you into the night,"_

He looked away again, angling his head to the left so she couldn't see the cut and bruise on his face. His eyes were once more focused on the ground and his hair fell into his eyes, almost hiding them from her sight. She sat down carefully next to him, only an inch separated them, and yet she sensed they were miles apart. She reached out carefully and gently touched his right cheek, just her finger tips pressed against his skin, like she had done not so long ago to his scare when they had still been on shaky terms. Zuko flinched at her gentle touch and pulled away, scooting his whole body to the left to escape her. Katara withdrew her hand and folded it in her lap, but kept her eyes on him.

"_If you need to fall apart_

_I can mend a broken heart_

_If you need to crash, then crash and burn_

_You're not alone."_

The side of Zuko's jaw clenched and Katara recognized it as pain from her friend. She hesitated and then reached out again, this time cupping his cheek even when he tried to pull away. "Zuko," she pleaded "look at me…" he obeyed slowly, eyes meeting hers for only a second before flashing downward to once again stare at the ground. Katara bit the inside of her cheek and then let go of his face. She scooted closer so she was almost in his lap and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. The boy trembled as she pulled back and Katara ran her hands gently through his hair, down his face, over his scar while avoiding his injuries and over his nose and lips. She leaned in and kissed again following the path over his face her hands had created, gently ending with her lips pressed lightly against his. He didn't respond, but his trembling increased. As she kissed him, her hands kept moving, carefully stroking his cheek, now running down his arms to clasp his rough hands. She pulled back and searched his eyes for a result. She got none.

"_When you feel all alone_

_And a loyal friend is hard to find,_

_You caught in a one-way street,_

_With the monsters in your head"_

Katara sighed, and took his hands again, standing and pulling him up to stand next to her. He gave no resistance and smoothly rose with her urging. His eyes though, Katara felt her heart break as she looked at them, they were so lost, so lonely, so afraid. She read in them all his fears, his fear of being alone, and his belief that he was. Even after she and Aang had adopted him into their group. His uncle had died in their escape of Azula, and his father now wanted him dead. The only family Zuko had ever hoped to gain the love and appreciation he so deserved now hated him. Sokka taunted Zuko despite Katara's endless attempts to stop him, and though Toph behaved herself most of the time, Katara knew that she blamed the prince for Iroh's death. Aang was indifferent, thankful that he at last had a fire-bending teacher, but his previous weariness of Zuko remained. Zuko knew all of that, but put up with it well, being able to occasionally convince Sokka to teach him to hunt and lure a joke out of the boy, and had more or less befriended the young earth-bender to the point where they shared frequent conversations.

But what Katara knew scared Zuko the most were the towns. The endless people who stared and pointed, muttering nasty things in voices loud enough to reach him and sometimes even threw things at him. He was defenseless against them, unable to defend himself without making it look like everything they said about him was true. Today had been the far worse that any thing yet, when Zuko had been split up from the rest of the group, he had been cornered in a back ally and roughed up until he had tried to push himself out. After that, one of the men had hit him and another had pulled a knife. If Zuko hadn't been fast enough and Katara hadn't found him in time, she was pretty sure Zuko wouldn't be alive.

Katara leaned in once more and stupid on her tiptoes to kiss his forehead, she felt Zuko lean slightly in towards her and Katara managed a small smile. It was a start. She pulled away and gently unknotted the sash around his middle, pulling it away and letting his shirt gape open. She pushed the garment off his shoulders, and stepped back, pulling off her own top and dropping her satchel to the ground. She took his hands in hers and slowly led him into the water. When they were waist deep, she stopped and moved closer again. Cupping her hands in the water, she lifted them, and gently poured the water over Zuko's head. It streamed down his face and down his neck. She repeated the action, then over his shoulders and chest, watching as Zuko shivered as the water cooled his abnormally hot skin. His eyes had drifted shut as Katara continued gently washing him. She watched him carefully, imagining the water cleansing him of all his fears. This handful washed away hatred, this washed away his grief, this one got rid of his sister, and this eased the terrifying image of his father.

"_When hopes and dreams are far away_

_And you feel like you can't face the day."_

Katara pulled him deeper into the water and pulled a strand of water away from the rest of it's shimmering body, lifting it to press against Zuko's cut. He winced but didn't pull away. Instead he opened his eyes to look at her and Katara smiled encouragingly at him, raising her other hand to run through his hair as she continued to heal his wound. His eyes closed again, but with a slightly more contented expression on his face as he leaned carefully into her touch. Katara let the water drop make into the pond and reached up to hold his face again. She leaned her forehead against Zuko's and sighed. Why did things have to be so complicated?

"_Let me be the one you call_

_If you jump I won't let you fall_

_Lift you up and fly away with you into the night."_

Zuko's own warm breath mingled with her own and she opened her eyes as the prince pressed his lips against her own. It wasn't so much a kiss as it was simple contact, the need to feel that she was there, that she cared, that she wasn't going to leave him. His hands that had been lying limply at his sides weakly wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. Katara wrapped her own around his back, returning his shy embrace. She pulled back slightly, beginning to shiver as the air turned cold with disappearance of the sun. Zuko must be even colder, she realized, the internal fire that heated him having weakened since the sun had sunken beneath the horizon. She stepped back slowly and took his hand again, leading him once more out of the water.

"_If you need to fall apart,_

_Well I can mend I broken heart_

_If you need to crash, then crash and burn_

_You're not alone."_

Katara dropped to her knees on the bank, motioning for the prince to copy her. Zuko followed suit and knelt down beside her as she pulled out an old blanket and wrapped it around her friend's shoulders. She moved around and hugged him from behind, resting her cheek in his soft hair and hummed softly, singing a melody she alone knew. Zuko's breathing was even under her, and she felt him beginning to relax for the first time.

"'_Cause there has always been heart ache and pain_

_And when it's over you'll breathe again._

_You'll breath again."_

"Zuko," Katara finally whispered. The two had been on the bank of the pond for over an hour, Zuko stretched out with his head in Katara's lap as she worked over his bruise with her water bending. His amber eyes opened slowly, catching her with their gaze. Katara smiled and leaned down to kiss his forehead. "You know I'll always be here right?" she asked softly, eyes hovering just above his. "Whenever you need me, I'll always be here." She whispered.

"_When you feel all alone,_

_And the world has turned it's back on you_

_Give me a moment please_

_To tame your wild, wild heart,"_

For the first time that evening, a slow, almost sad smile spread over Zuko's face, and he wrapped an arm around her neck, redirecting her and pulling her back down to kiss her fully. Katara closed her eyes as his lips moved gently against her own and she returned the kiss fully. When he finally let her up, an expression that was almost close to his usual smirk lit his face. "I know that," he breathed as his hand moved to trace her lips. "I just needed to hear it." Katara smiled and gave his head an awkward hug.

"I'll say it as many times as you need to hear it," she confessed as he moved to sit up and pull her in turn into his own lap. "I love you Zuko."

"Me too, I love you too." He whispered into her ear.

"_Let me be the one you call_

_If you jump I won't let you fall_

_Lift you up and fly away with you into the night_

_If you need to fall apart,_

_I can mend a broken heart_

_If you need to crash, then crash and burn_

_You're not alone_."


End file.
